About Voter’s Edge California

Welcome to Voter’s Edge California

Voter’s Edge California (VEC) is a joint project of MapLight and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund (LWVCEF).* Voter’s Edge California is a comprehensive, nonpartisan online guide to elections covering federal, state, and local races in the state of California.

With Voter’s Edge California, voters can:

Access their full, personalized ballot by entering their address.

Get in-depth information on candidates, measures, and who supports them.

View candidate biographies, top priorities, answers to questions, photos, policy videos, endorsements, and detailed information about who funds their campaigns.

Check where, when, and how to vote, including information on their local polling locations.

Keep track of their choices to make voting easier.

Share information about the election with friends and family.

*The LWVCEF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and never advocates. The League of Women Voters of California does operate a separate nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on issues and sometimes makes recommendations on ballot measures.

History of Voter’s Edge California

The League of Women Voters of California Education Fund produced one of the nation’s first election information websites, SmartVoter.org. Since 1996, the Smart Voter project has been California’s premier online source for authoritative, nonpartisan coverage of election contests, candidates, and ballot measures.

MapLight’s Voter’s Edge tool was first designed to help voters understand the sources of funding behind ballot measures in California. In recent years, the project has expanded to cover candidates and elections in states beyond California.

In 2014, the League and MapLight joined forces to create a successful pilot project. The result is Voter’s Edge California.

The Partnership

MapLight and the League of Women Voters of California Education Fund’s continued collaboration into the 2016 election cycle empowers voters to access the information they need to vote with confidence. Our partnership marries Smart Voter’s authoritative coverage of election contests, candidates, and ballot measures with MapLight's deep expertise in public data and technology. The result is Voter’s Edge California, which provides top-to-bottom ballot and campaign finance information in one easy-to-use site, giving voters instant access to political information of unparalleled depth and transparency.

About MapLight

MapLight is a nonpartisan research organization that reveals money’s influence on politics. We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

We provide journalists and citizens with transparency tools that connect data on campaign contributions, politicians, legislative votes, industries, companies, and more to show patterns of influence never before possible to see. These tools allow users to gain unique insights into how campaign contributions affect policy so they can draw their own conclusions about how money influences our political system.

Advisory Boards

Voter’s Edge has an advisory board for each state it covers, as well as a Spanish language advisory board. Voter’s Edge advisory board members are dedicated leaders who share a commitment to civic engagement, nonpartisan voter information, and good government. They represent a variety of political affiliations and hold expertise in different areas, but all are invested in addressing the challenges faced by voters in their state. At the national level, Voter’s Edge is guided by input from MapLight’s board and advisory board.

Voter’s Edge California Advisory Board

Members of the Voter’s Edge California advisory board advise MapLight on various aspects of Voter’s Edge, including editorial policy, potential partnerships, and effective distribution strategies. Members include:

Spanish Language Advisory Board

Members of the Voter’s Edge Spanish Language advisory board advise MapLight on various aspects of translating and presenting Voter’s Edge in Spanish, as well as distribution strategies to Spanish-language users. Members include:

Funders

Voter’s Edge California is funded by individuals and foundations who support our work providing voters with a one-stop source of unbiased, nonpartisan information to help them make choices that best align with their particular values and interests.

We are deeply grateful to the following foundations and individuals whose contributions make Voter’s Edge California possible:

The James Irvine Foundation

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation

The Kaphan Foundation

Santa Clara County: Registrar of Voters

San Mateo County: Office of Assessor-Clerk-Recorder

Marin County: Registrar of Voters

The Honorable Becky Morgan

Orlin and Onnolee Trapp

John Matthews

Bonnie and Earl Hamlin

Katherine Armstrong

Mark Leonard

League of Women Voters of San Jose/Santa Clara

Suzanne Stassevitch

League of Women Voters of Alameda

League of Women Voters of Los Altos/Mountain View Area

League of Women Voters of Marin County

League of Women Voters of North County San Diego

League of Women Voters of Oakland

League of Women Voters of Palo Alto

League of Women Voters of Sacramento County

League of Women Voters of San Diego

League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara

League of Women Voters of Santa Monica

League of Women Voters of Sonoma County

League of Women Voters of South San Mateo County

League of Women Voters of Southwest Santa Clara Valley

All of our grassroots supporters, with a special shout-out to these Kickstarter backers:

Meet the Voter’s Edge California Team

A diverse group of talents and personalities, from both the League of Women Voters Education Fund (LWVCEF) and MapLight, combine to make Voter’s Edge California possible - let’s meet the team!

From the LWVCEF:

From MapLight:

Deputy Director: Dora Rose

Program Manager: Allie Jaarsma

Membership & Technology Manager: Sharon Stone

Technical Director: Leon Smith

Senior Advisor: Roberta Hollimon

Product Manager: Skippy Williams

Senior Advisor: Carol Watts

Data Director: Laura Curlin

Senior Programmer: Carl Hage

Researcher: Chad Outler

Liaisons: Bonnie Hamlin, Julie Ann Sih, and Jane Wanderer

Researcher: Amari Cowan

Board Liaison: Kathy Armstrong

MapLight President & Co-Founder: Daniel Newman

President: Helen Hutchison

Executive Director: Melissa Breach

Learn more about the Voter’s Edge team and the rest of the MapLight crew!

County Coordinators: County Coordinators and other volunteers are vital to the success of Voter’s Edge California. These volunteers work tirelessly to ensure Voter’s Edge California offers an abundance of accurate, high-quality information to voters.

Alameda County Coordinator:Bonnie Hamlin

Butte County Coordinator:Jane Wanderer

Calaveras County Coordinator:Brenda McHenry

Contra Costa County Coordinator:Marian Shostrom

El Dorado County Coordinator:Elaine Lyman

Fresno County Coordinator:Jacquie Canfield

Humboldt County:Currently Vacant

Imperial County Coordinator:Julie Ann Sih

Kern County:Currently Vacant

Los Angeles County Coordinator:Sharon Stone

Marin County Coordinator:Veda Flores

Mariposa County Coordinator:Erin Stacy

Mendocino County Coordinator:Pat Dunbar

Merced County Coordinator:Amelia Johnson

Monterey County Coordinator:Robin Tokmakian

Napa County Coordinator:Kim Farmer

Nevada County Coordinator:Andrew Muse-Fisher

Orange County Coordinator:Petti Van Rekom

Placer County Coordinator:Barbara Smith

Riverside County Coordinator:Currently Vacant

Sacramento County Coordinator:Claudia Bonsignore

San Bernardino County Coordinator:Jill Vassilakos

San Diego County Coordinator:Julie Ann Sih

San Francisco County Coordinator:Trinh Phan

San Joaquin County Coordinator:Bea Lingenfelter

San Luis Obispo County Coordinator:Ann Havlik

San Mateo County Coordinator:Kathee Tyson

Santa Barbara County Coordinator:Bonnie Lassen

Santa Clara County Coordinators:Roberta Holliman

Santa Cruz County Coordinator:Cecilie Schulze

Shasta County Coordinator:Emily Davis

Solano County Coordinator:Gayle Vaughan

Sonoma County Coordinator:Marie Wardell

Stanislaus County Coordinator:Mary Giventer

Tulare County Coordinator:Dale Simmons

Ventura County Coordinator:Sage Intner

Translations

Spanish-language translations are available for site navigation, state ballot measures, the voting information guide, and some of the information provided by candidates in statewide and federal contests.

Translations for site navigation and candidate-supplied information was provided by AvantPage, under contract with Voter’s Edge, to ensure accessibility of content to Spanish-language audiences. Any inaccuracies or requests can be directed to tech@votersedge.org. Translations for state ballot measures are copied from the California Secretary of State.